Ideas For Boys | Page 7

time or effort to obtain. There are but few things more quieting and soothing to the nerves after a day of strenuous effort than music, and a boy will benefit himself by learning to play the piano.

SCHOOL DAYS.
It is a great privilege to be able to go to school, but some boys do not appreciate what this privilege means to them; they do not stop to think of the advantages of an education. Your school is the place in which you receive instruction in various branches of knowledge. Knowledge is power, therefore get knowledge. You can learn only a little at a time, but if you learn something every day you will possess considerable knowledge in the course of time. School is a place where your mind may be trained; where you may learn how to work, how to concentrate your mind, so that you will be better able to solve the problems that must be solved from day to day, throughout your life.
When you are in school improve each shining hour, don't waste your time or your teacher's time with annoying and frivolous acts; there is a time for work and a time for play, but don't try to work and play at the same time; little children, of course, are expected to do these foolish things, but a boy ten years of age is old enough to understand that school life is serious and that it is time for him to begin to work and study. The boy who can study and recite under the direction of a competent teacher who does not have more than six or seven boys in the class is indeed a fortunate boy, because when the teacher has only a small number to instruct he can see to it that each boy learns and understands each lesson each day. In other words a schoolmaster can train six boys each day more thoroughly than he can a class of forty boys, and this is a reason why some schools will produce better results than others.
While you are in school have an object in mind and work toward it; you probably will want to go to college later on, and if you have that object in mind constantly, you will obtain a more thorough preparation for your college work, Preparation for college is extremely important, and if you are carefully and thoroughly prepared, your work in college will be much easier and pleasanter. Learn while you are in school to concentrate all of your thoughts on your studies, don't let your mind wander from one subject to another, for when you have learned HOW TO CONCENTRATE then studying will become simple and pleasant, and you will be on the high road to success.
To become an educated man you must study many things.
You must learn about your own physical development. Then about the earth of which you are an inhabitant, study its geography and learn about the different countries, where each country is located, what kinds of climate it possesses, what grains and vegetables its soil will produce and its mineral resources, its accessible ports and means of transportation, and especially must yo,u learn these things about your own country.
You must learn about the languages, literature, and characteristics of the different races on the earth and about their forms of governments, and what industries the inhabitants of the different countries are engaged in, and the industrial and social relations of the people; also what sports and games they enjoy.
Then you must learn something about the universe of which the earth is a part, this brings you to the study of astronomy, the science which teaches the knowledge of heavenly bodies.
You should also study the religions of the different people and especially the Christian religion. The Bible is the best guide for your spiritual and religious thought and it contains the Ten Commandments which are the basis of morals and many of the laws. A thorough knowledge of the laws and principles of morality are most essential to your success, and without this, your education will be incomplete.
The inhabitants of the world are rapidly becoming educated. Schools are now established in all of the leading nations of the world, and in most of them the attendance of the children at school for a definite time is made compulsory by the law; for example, Japan with its fiftyfive million people living in a country about half the size of California is ninetyeight per cent literate, that is ninetyeight per cent of her people know how to read and write; this means great progress, and has largely come about in the lifetime of one man.
The four hundred million inhabitants of China are just awakening to the advantages of our civilization, and are attempting to establish a Republic similar to